


Marsh

by Jackolidus



Series: Will it Stick? [1]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Babies, Broken Heart, Dating issues, Roommates, the beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 05:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30067014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackolidus/pseuds/Jackolidus
Summary: Rose is just a guy with a kid and some friends.
Series: Will it Stick? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2212059





	Marsh

“Okay, so, where do you live?”

Rose pulled out his signature smile. “By the ocean.”

“So, like, oceanfront?” Lila asked, smiling and flirtatiously reaching for her wine glass. 

“Not quite,” he elaborated. “It’s a couple blocks, but you can hear the ocean from my yard.”

Lila gave him a funny smile. “That is so cute. I love the beach.” 

“Me too.”

He watched her take another bite of her pasta. “So, are we going back there tonight?”

He looked down, still smiling. “On the first date,” he murmured. “Unfortunately, I have three roommates, and one is a toddler. Plus, early morning tomorrow.”

She giggled stiffly at him, her whole mood had shifted. “There’s always an early morning, isn’t there.”

“I guess there is,” he agreed. “But this one’s legit, I swear. I have a meeting tomorrow.”

Lila put her fork down and grabbed her purse. “Well, I am going to use the restroom, and I will be right back, okay?”

Rose smiled at her again. “See you.”

He was aware that he was getting stood up, he let his smile drop as she very obviously walked to the exit and out the door without even looking back. 

He paid the check, finished his wine, and ate all the leftover breadsticks before getting up and leaving the building. 

Rose had always been way less than successful when it came to dating. No one seemed to want to be a part of his life. And it wasn’t because all the girls wanted to fuck on the first date, he was usually down, but he really did have a toddler at the house, and he really did have an important meeting. For some reason, he could list a few, women just were not interested in him. 

His roommates were on the couch, opposite sides, and they both looked at him with twin raised eyebrows. 

He shook his head and they both made sad faces at him. 

He plopped down in the middle of the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. “Is the little chicken strip in bed?”

Jackson nodded. “Dead asleep.”

“She went down okay?”

Steph rolled her eyes. “As if. She’s a nightmare.”

Rose sighed and settled into the couch. “I know. She’s one, what did you expect?”

“A little bit of respect,” she said, gesturing with her hand. “Just a little.”

“She doesn’t even know what respect is,” Jackson argued. “Cut her some slack, she’s a tod.”

“She also proves that I can get laid,” Rose added. “Which is nice to remember, sometimes.”

“Remind me,” Steph said, teasing, “Have you had sex since she was born?”

Rose had definitely had sex in the last two years. Multiple times. But it was funnier to let his roommates make fun of him. And it felt like two years, Jesus Christ.

He leaned his head back to rest on the top of the couch. “It’s not my face, right?”

Jackson snorted. 

“It’s probably Chicken Strip,” Steph said honestly. “They say guys have commitment issues, but women are way worse.”

“You should put her in a box that says, ‘free to a good home’.”

Rose shot Jackson a look. “You should suck my ass.” 

Steph hummed. “Careful, Rose. He’ll do it.”

Before getting into bed, Rose stopped by the crib in the corner. He peered in, looking at his baby. The place in his heart where her mom had lived was still sore to the touch. It still felt like a newly-missing tooth. He felt like he was prodding at it every time he looked at their baby. 

She left when he got her pregnant with Marsh. She was pissed. He’d been an adult, almost thirty at the time, and she’d fucking decked him in the face when she found out. And they’d been together since college, so it hurt. It hurt a lot. 

And, to make matters worse, Rose hadn’t wanted Marsh either. This was no, oh, he slipped it in raw, fuck him. The condom had torn and she’d been between birth controls. It was the worst possible combination of chance surprises. Now, he was feeling the brunt of the pain. He had a baby, no life, and a house on the beach that he shared with two of his best friends. 

And he had a broken heart, but he was working on that one, trying to relax and let someone else in. The next date he went on, he’d have to get Steph and Jackson to take the baby out for the night. 

He loved her, he remembered, kneeling down to push a few fingers through the bars to brush against her tiny hand. He loved her, but he’d loved her mother more and for longer. And if he had to sacrifice her to get her mother back…it would be a hard decision, but her mom would win. It made him a bad daddy, he guessed, but there was no getting his love back, and he really did love his little chicken strip. 

He sat down on the floor to watch. Maybe his love for his baby would fill the gaps in his heart. Maybe then he wouldn’t be so sexually frustrated all the time. He fucking hoped so.

**Author's Note:**

> That's all, folks.


End file.
